Myself and lots of others are lucky - we live high above the water out in the country, so we fared okay. But so many others are facing the destruction of their homes and their very way of life. For many, things will never be the same, ever again.
Fortunately, there've been no reported deaths, as of yet. The warnings were very accurate, ahead of time and prompt. As can be expected, local relief efforts are already underway, several kick-starting from Facebook pages, such as Binghamton Rocks 4 Flood Relief and the Binghamton Flood - community support page.
One effort in particular readers of this blog might be interested helping out in, something very easy and - in my opinion - very important is extending a helping hand to MacArthur Elementary School, a sizable school in Vestal, New York. A Pre-K to 5th grade school, they were COMPLETELY flooded out and lost everything. Including EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK. In all the first floor classrooms and the main library. No books.
Gone.
And, very likely, other schools in the area have suffered similar fates.
Currently, a collection is being taken of suitable Pre-K through 5th books to help replace MacArthur's losses. I'm sure other schools will be in need too, but for right now, donations to MacArthur can be mailed to a MacArthur teacher at:
PO Box 198
Whitney Point, NY 13862
We've already sifted through Madi's books, and she helped pick out some to donate. If you happen to have some books taking up space in a box or basement or closet somewhere, just pack them and ship them. It'd be much appreciated, I'm sure, and would go a long way towards helping them replace their collection.
done and done
ReplyDeleteThank you, sir!
ReplyDeleteMacArthur School is in Binghamton - part of the Binghamton City School District. And books collected will be used by students in the classrooms, as they will be relocated to vacant Catholic schools, without a library for an unspecified amount of time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sorry about that. I always call it Vestal, because it's at the end of Vestal Parkway, but it is in the Binghamton School District. Thanks for the correction!
ReplyDeleteIs the teacher still accepting books?
ReplyDelete